Monday, July 11, 2011

Hot! Joliets Nina Montello Vying For Semifinals Of National Spelling Bee - Herald News

By Catherine Ann Velasco cvelasco@stmedianetwork.com

Nina Montello, and her dad, Brian, during Round One Tuesday at Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of National Scripps Spellig Bee

WASHINGTON Joliet s Nina Montello bounced away from the microphone Wednesday after spelling nihilism correctly.

It s pretty ironic that out of the 275 words dished out at the National Spelling Bee that Nina - a Catholic student - would get that word.

Nina, a sixth-grader at Cathedral of St. Raymond s School, nailed down the word bromeliad in Round Two and then nihilism - in Round Three at the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

I knew I could get it, she said Wednesday afternoon in a phone interview between rounds.

Nina 12, Will County s Spelling Bee contender, is one of 275 spellers vying for a spot in the semifinals and then the championship round both held Thursday.

In Round Two, 237 students spelled their word correctly. Thirty-eight did not. All 275 spellers returned for Round 3, which began at 12:15 p.m. Central time today and can be seen on w.ESPN3.com. Up to 50 spellers will be selected for Thursday s Semifinals. That announcement will be made soon after Round Three is completed.

Between rounds, Nina studied French, Spanish and Italian words.

Those are the hard ones. I m a little nervous. I think it will be harder, she said of the third round.

Her dad, Brian Montello, gave her some tips once she gets in front of the microphone.

She said there was a little bit of an echo. I told her if you have any doubts make sure you ask for other stuff so you have time to process, he said.

She could ask for the definition, pronunciation, word of origin and for the word to be used in a sentence. She can also ask if she is pronouncing the word correctly.

During the written test on Tuesday, Brian said she hurried so he told her it was OK to slow down a bit.

Brian said the experience is very overwhelming, but very cool.

It s such an honor to be here, he said.

For good luck, Nina brought her blue Aeropostale shirt that she wore to the Will County Spelling Bee, but she can t wear it during competition because they are not allowed to wear shirts with logos or patterns. So she is sticking with her yellow shirt that she wore during Round Two.

After Round Three, the family will find out if Nina gets into the top 50 and into the semifinals, which will be held 9 a.m. Thursday on ESPN. The finals be shown on later that night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

This is Nina s first time at the national bee. She is one of 18 spellers from Illinois competing for the national title. The big prize includes $30,000 and trophy from Scripps; a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and a reference library from Merriam-Webster; a $5,000 scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation and reference material and a test program from Encyclopedia Britannica.

This is the third time Will County is sending its very own winner to the national event. ComEd is sponsoring the trip. At the Will County Spelling Bee in February, Nina had to win to advance. The event was sponsored by ComEd, Will County Regional Office of Education and Lewis University College of Education.

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